Israel plans new town on seized land

The Palestinians gave warning that any new housing development threatened to derail their revived peace talks

By Tim Butcher in Jerusalem

12:01AM GMT 20 Dec 2007

Israel defied international pressure to freeze construction of new Jewish homes in the occupied territories when it said yesterday that it was planning to build a dormitory town on the northern edge of Jerusalem.

Zeev Boim, Israel's housing minister, issued a statement confirming preliminary plans had been drawn up for the construction of 10,000 apartments.

If it went ahead it would dwarf all existing Jewish communities near Jerusalem built on land seized by Israeli forces in the Six Day War in 1967.

Aware of the sensitive nature of any such development, a spokesman for Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, sought to play down the issue, saying no final decision had been taken.

The plans come less than a week after Washington reacted with anger to an Israeli announcement of 307 new apartments at an existing Jewish community in east Jerusalem.

The Palestinians gave warning that any new housing development threatened to derail their recently revived peace talks with Israel.

"It is impossible to make peace and settlements at the same time," said Saeb Erekat, the senior Palestinian negotiator.

"We consider these steps as threatening the beginning of the final negotiations between the two sides."

Mr Boim said Jerusalem needed new housing to cope with a growing Jewish population and he said attempts to develop the hills to the west of the city, away from the Palestinian population centres, had been blocked by environmentalists. So he argued that left no alternative than to consider land to the east.

"The housing ministry must provide a solution to the housing shortage in Jerusalem," he said.

The new dormitory town would be on land near the small village of Atarot, between Jerusalem and the West Bank town of Ramallah.

The Palestinians claim Atarot is part of the occupied West Bank while Israel claims it lies within the wider municipal boundaries of Greater Jerusalem and is thus not subject to the same planning restrictions as the West Bank.